U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey News Release

Technical information: (202) 691-5870 USDL 08-0942
http://www.bls.gov/jlt/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Wednesday, July 9, 2008
JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER: MAY 2008
On the last business day of May, there were 3.6 million job
openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 2.6
percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of
Labor reported today. The job openings rate and total separations
rate were unchanged in May while the hires rate fell. This release
includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and
separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic
region.
Although the month-to-month changes in job openings, hires, and
turnover data are often small, the trends over time are notable. The
job openings rate remained essentially flat from August 2006 through
September 2007 then began trending downward, driven by decreases in
manufacturing; transportation, warehousing, and utilities; and
information. As the declines in these industries leveled off, the job
openings rate has remained at 2.6 percent in March, April and May. The
hires rate has trended downward since July 2006 and in May was at the
lowest point in almost five years. The same industries that drove the
decline in the job openings rate have driven the decline in the hires
rate: manufacturing; transportation, warehousing, and utilities; and
information. The separations rate began an overall downward trend in
November 2006, driven by declines in several industries, but has
leveled off in 2008. (See tables 1, 2, and 3.)
- 2 -
Table A. Job openings, hires, and total separations by industry, seasonally
adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Job openings | Hires | Total separations
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Industry | May | Apr. | May | May | Apr. | May | May | Apr. | May
| 2007 | 2008 | 2008p| 2007 | 2008 | 2008p| 2007 | 2008 | 2008p
-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total(1)...........|4,133 |3,612 |3,626 |4,875 |4,715 |4,301 |4,542 |4,404 |4,381
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1).|3,681 |3,192 |3,180 |4,457 |4,311 |3,990 |4,223 |4,112 |4,084
Construction...| 165 | 99 | 118 | 355 | 385 | 300 | 350 | 378 | 400
Manufacturing..| 342 | 244 | 236 | 348 | 300 | 274 | 393 | 390 | 362
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and| | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)..| 671 | 550 | 603 |1,050 | 943 | 835 | 959 |1,003 | 885
Retail trade..| 355 | 338 | 383 | 739 | 642 | 585 | 692 | 716 | 618
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services......| 677 | 676 | 601 | 915 | 858 | 799 | 750 | 739 | 718
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices.........| 699 | 684 | 672 | 500 | 510 | 499 | 432 | 429 | 417
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality(3)| 553 | 491 | 518 | 868 | 841 | 884 | 815 | 722 | 831
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.....| 486 | 433 | 443 | 743 | 719 | 749 | 704 | 619 | 702
Government(4)....| 453 | 422 | 453 | 400 | 407 | 388 | 316 | 295 | 294
State and local| | | | | | | | |
government....| 416 | 395 | 410 | 327 | 315 | 312 | 247 | 248 | 244
|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------------------
Total(1)...........| 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.2
| | | | | | | | |
Total private(1).| 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.5
Construction...| 2.1 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 5.5
Manufacturing..| 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.7
Trade, trans- | | | | | | | | |
portation, and| | | | | | | | |
utilities(2)..| 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.3
Retail trade..| 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.0
Professional | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | |
services......| 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.0
Education and | | | | | | | | |
health ser- | | | | | | | | |
vices.........| 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2
Leisure and | | | | | | | | |
hospitality(3)| 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 6.5 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 6.1 | 5.3 | 6.1
Accommodation | | | | | | | | |
and food | | | | | | | | |
services.....| 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 6.1 | 5.3 | 6.0
Government(4)....| 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3
State and local| | | | | | | | |
government....| 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and
other services, not shown separately.
2 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not
shown separately.
3 Includes arts, entertainment, and recreation, not shown separately.
4 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
p = preliminary.
Job Openings
In May, the job openings rate was unchanged at 2.6 percent. Job
openings include only those jobs open on the last business day of the
month. Over the month, the job openings rate changed significantly
only in the government sector where it rose. Since the series began
in December 2000, three industries consistently have had higher job
openings rates than the other industries: accommodation and food
services (3.7 percent in May), education and health services (3.4
percent), and professional and business services (3.2 percent). (See
table 1.)
- 3 -
Over the year, the job openings rate (not seasonally adjusted)
did not rise significantly for any industry or region. The rate fell
over the year for total nonfarm (to 2.7 percent) and total private
(2.8 percent) as well as in several industries, including construction
(1.9 percent); durable goods manufacturing (1.6 percent); nondurable
goods manufacturing (2.0 percent); wholesale trade (2.4 percent);
transportation, warehousing, and utilities (1.8 percent); information
(2.1 percent); finance and insurance (2.0 percent); and educational
services (1.7 percent). Regionally, the job openings rate fell over
the year in the South (2.9 percent). (See table 5.)
Hires
The hires rate decreased significantly to 3.1 percent in May, the
lowest point since June 2003. Hires are any additions to the payroll
during the month. After four months of no significant over-the-month
changes in any industry, the hires rate fell in May for total nonfarm
(to 3.1 percent), total private (3.5 percent), construction (4.1
percent), and trade, transportation, and utilities (3.2 percent). As
occurs nearly every month, the seasonally adjusted hires rate was
highest in May in accommodation and food services (6.4 percent) and
lowest in state and local government (1.6 percent). (See table 2.)
From May 2007 to May 2008, the hires rate (not seasonally
adjusted) did not increase significantly in any industry; the rate
decreased significantly for total nonfarm (to 3.6 percent) and total
private (4.0 percent), and in durable goods manufacturing (2.0
percent), nondurable goods manufacturing (2.9 percent), wholesale
trade (1.9 percent), retail trade (4.2 percent), information (1.6
percent), and finance and insurance (2.1 percent). Regionally, the
hires rate fell over the year in the Midwest (3.7 percent) and South
(3.6 percent). (See table 6.)
Separations
The total separations, or turnover, rate was unchanged at 3.2
percent in May. Separations are terminations of employment that occur
at any time during the month. Over the month, the separations rate
decreased in retail trade (to 4.0 percent). The seasonally adjusted
separations rate was highest in May in accommodation and food services
(6.0 percent) and lowest in state and local government (1.2 percent).
From May 2007 to May 2008, the total separations rate rose in
construction (5.2 percent), educational services (3.3 percent), and
other services (4.1 percent). The rate fell over the year in retail
trade (4.0 percent), information (1.6 percent), finance and insurance
(2.1 percent), health care and social assistance (2.3 percent), the
federal government (1.9 percent) and the South region (3.5 percent).
(See tables 3 and 7.)
Total separations include quits (voluntary separations), layoffs
and discharges (involuntary separations), and other separations
(including retirements). The quits rate, which can serve as a
barometer of workersâ ability to change jobs, was little changed in
May for total nonfarm (at 1.7 percent) and has been stable since
November 2007. The quits rate decreased in May in education and health
services (to 1.2 percent) and in state and local government (0.6
percent). As has occurred every month since the series began in
December 2000, the seasonally adjusted quits rate was highest in the
accommodation and food services industry (4.2 percent) and lowest in
state and local government (0.6 percent). (See table 4.)
- 4 -
From May 2007 to May 2008, the quits rate (not seasonally
adjusted) fell for total nonfarm, total private, many of the
industries, and three of the four regions. The industries in which
the quits rate fell over the year were: natural resources and mining;
durable goods manufacturing; nondurable goods manufacturing; retail
trade; transportation, warehousing, and utilities; finance and
insurance; health care and social assistance; federal government; and
state and local government. The three regions in which the quits rate
decreased over the year were the Midwest, South, and West. The quits
rate did not rise significantly in May in any industry or region.
(See table 8.)
The other two components of total separationsâlayoffs and
discharges, and other separationsâare not seasonally adjusted. For
May, the layoffs and discharges rate (1.2 percent) and level (1.6
million) were both higher than a year earlier. The layoffs and
discharges rate increased significantly in construction, educational
services, other services, and the Northeast region; the rate fell for
the federal government. The layoffs and discharges rate in May 2008
was highest in construction (3.1 percent) and arts, entertainment, and
recreation (3.2 percent) and lowest in federal government (0.4
percent). The other separations rate (0.2 percent) and level
(269,000) were little changed in May from a year earlier. As usual,
the highest other separations rate in May 2008 was for the federal
government (0.8 percent). The other separations rate for most of the
other industries range from 0.1 to 0.3 percent each month. (See
tables 9 and 10.)
The total separations rate is driven by the relative contribution
of its three components (quits, layoffs and discharges, and other
separations), with quits contributing the largest portion. The
percentage of total separations attributable to quits has risen and
fallen over time. The proportion of total separations due to quits
(seasonally adjusted) rose from a post-recession low of 50 percent in
December 2003 to a high of 61 percent in December 2006 before trending
downward again. In May 2008, quits accounted for 54 percent of total
separations. The proportion of separations attributable to quits has
varied the most over the life of the series in the construction
industry (varying from 26 percent to 55 percent) and in the Northeast
region (varying from 39 percent to 65 percent). The proportion of
separations attributable to quits varies widely by industry with the
highest proportion regularly occurring in the accommodation and food
services industry (71 percent in May) and the lowest proportion
regularly occurring in the construction industry (30 percent in May).
(See tables 3 and 4.)
Flows in the Labor Market
Several industries consistently have high rates of both hires and
separations. These include construction; retail trade; professional
and business services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and
accommodation and food services. In the 12 months ending in May 2008,
these 5 industries produced 32.5 million hires and 31.6 million
separations. Therefore, these five industries accounted for 58
percent of total nonfarm hires and 59 percent of total nonfarm
separations while comprising only 40 percent of total nonfarm
employment.
For More Information
For additional information, please read the Technical Note or
visit the JOLTS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/jlt/. Additional
information about JOLTS also may be obtained by e-mailing
Joltsinfo@bls.gov or by calling (202) 691-5870.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover release for June 2008 is
scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, August 12.

- 5 -
Technical Note
The data for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) are
collected and compiled monthly from a sample of business establishments
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Collection
Each month, data are collected in a survey of business establishments
for total employment, job openings, hires, quits, layoffs and discharges,
and other separations. Data collection methods include computer-assisted
telephone interviewing, touchtone data entry, fax, and mail.
Coverage
The JOLTS program covers all private nonfarm establishments such as
factories, offices, and stores, as well as federal, state, and local
government entities in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Concepts
Industry classification. The industry classifications in this release
are in accordance with the 2007 version of the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS). In order to ensure the highest possible
quality of data, State Workforce Agencies verify with employers and up-
date, if necessary, the industry code, location, and ownership classi-
fication of all establishments on a 3-year cycle. Changes in establish-
ment characteristics resulting from the verification process are always
introduced into the JOLTS sampling frame with the data reported for the
first month of the year.
Employment. Employment includes persons on the payroll who worked or
received pay for the pay period that includes the 12th day of the refer-
ence month. Full-time, part-time, permanent, short-term, seasonal, sala-
ried, and hourly employees are included, as are employees on paid vaca-
tions or other paid leave. Proprietors or partners of unincorporated
businesses, unpaid family workers, or persons on leave without pay or on
strike for the entire pay period, are not counted as employed. Employees
of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, outside contrac-
tors, and consultants are counted by their employer of record, not by the
establishment where they are working.
Job openings. Establishments submit job openings information for the
last business day of the reference month. A job opening requires that:
1) a specific position exists and there is work available for that posi-
tion, 2) work could start within 30 days regardless of whether a suitable
candidate is found, and 3) the employer is actively recruiting from out-
side the establishment to fill the position. Included are full-time,
part-time, permanent, short-term, and seasonal openings. Active re-
cruiting means that the establishment is taking steps to fill a position
by advertising in newspapers or on the Internet, posting help-wanted
signs, accepting applications, or using other similar methods.
Jobs to be filled only by internal transfers, promotions, demotions,
or recall from layoffs are excluded. Also excluded are jobs with start
dates more than 30 days in the future, jobs for which employees have
been hired but have not yet reported for work, and jobs to be filled by
employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, out-
side contractors, or consultants. The job openings rate is computed by
dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job
openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
- 6 -
Hires. Hires are the total number of additions to the payroll occur-
ring at any time during the reference month, including both new and
rehired employees, full-time and part-time, permanent, short-term and
seasonal employees, employees recalled to the location after a layoff
lasting more than 7 days, on-call or intermittent employees who returned
to work after having been formally separated, and transfers from other
locations. The hires count does not include transfers or promotions
within the reporting site, employees returning from strike, employees of
temporary help agencies or employee leasing companies, outside contrac-
tors, or consultants. The hires rate is computed by dividing the number
of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
Separations. Separations are the total number of terminations of
employment occurring at any time during the reference month, and are
reported by type of separation--quits, layoffs and discharges, and
other separations. Quits are voluntary separations by employees (ex-
cept for retirements, which are reported as other separations). Lay-
offs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the em-
ployer and include layoffs with no intent to rehire, formal layoffs
lasting or expected to last more than 7 days, discharges resulting
from mergers, downsizing, or closings, firings or other discharges
for cause, terminations of permanent or short-term employees, and
terminations of seasonal employees. Other separations include re-
tirements, transfers to other locations, deaths, and separations
due to disability. Separations do not include transfers within the
same location or employees on strike.
The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separa-
tions by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits,
layoffs and discharges, and other separations rates are computed simi-
larly, dividing the number by employment and multiplying by 100.
Annual estimates. Annual estimates of rates and levels of hires,
quits, layoffs and discharges, other separations, and total separations
are released with the January news release each year.
The JOLTS annual level estimates for hires, quits, layoffs and dis-
charges, other separations, and total separations are the sum of the
12 published monthly levels. The annual rate estimates are computed by
dividing the annual level by the Current Employment Statistics (CES)
annual average employment level, and multiplying that quotient by 100.
This figure will be approximately equal to the sum of the 12 monthly
rates. Note that both the JOLTS and CES annual levels are rounded to
the nearest thousand before the annual estimates are calculated. Con-
sistent with BLS practices, annual estimates will be published only for
not seasonally adjusted data.
Annual estimates are not calculated for job openings because job
openings are a stock, or point-in-time, measurement for the last busi-
ness day of each month. Only jobs still open on the last day of the
month are counted. For the same reason job openings cannot be cumulated
throughout each month, annual figures for job openings cannot be created
by summing the monthly estimates. Hires and separations are flow mea-
sures and are cumulated over the month with a total reported for the
month. Therefore, the annual figures can be created by summing the
monthly estimates.
- 7 -
Sample methodology
The JOLTS sample design is a random sample of 16,000 nonfarm business
establishments, including factories, offices, and stores, as well as
federal, state, and local governments in the 50 states and the District
of Columbia. The establishments are drawn from a universe of over
eight million establishments compiled as part of the operations of the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, or QCEW, program. This program
includes all employers subject to state Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws
and federal agencies subject to Unemployment Compensation for Federal
Employees (UCFE).
The sampling frame is stratified by ownership, region, industry sector,
and size class. Large firms fall into the sample with virtual certainty.
JOLTS total employment estimates are controlled to the employment esti-
mates of the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey. A ratio of CES
to JOLTS employment is used to adjust the levels for all other JOLTS data
elements. Rates are then computed from the adjusted levels.
Using JOLTS data
The JOLTS data series on job openings, hires, and separations are rel-
atively new. The full sample is divided into panels, with one panel en-
rolled each month. A full complement of panels for the original data
series based on the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system
was not completely enrolled in the survey until January 2002. The sup-
plemental panels of establishments needed to create NAICS estimates were
not completely enrolled until May 2003. The data collected up until
those points are from less than a full sample. Therefore, estimates from
earlier months should be used with caution, as fewer sampled units were
reporting data at that time.
In March 2002, BLS procedures for collecting hires and separations data
were revised to address possible underreporting. As a result, JOLTS hires
and separations estimates for months prior to March 2002 may not be compar-
able with estimates for March 2002 and later.
The federal government reorganization that involved transferring approx-
imately 180,000 employees to the new Department of Homeland Security is not
reflected in the JOLTS hires and separations estimates for the federal gov-
ernment. The Office of Personnel Management's record shows these transfers
were completed in March 2003. The inclusion of transfers in the JOLTS defi-
nitions of hires and separations is intended to cover ongoing movements of
workers between establishments. The Department of Homeland Security reor-
ganization was a massive one-time event, and the inclusion of these inter-
governmental transfers would distort the federal government time series.
Seasonal adjustment
BLS seasonally adjusts several JOLTS series using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal
adjustment program. Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and
removing periodic fluctuations caused by events such as weather, holidays,
and the beginning and ending of the school year. Seasonal adjustment makes
it easier to observe fundamental changes in the level of the series, par-
ticularly those associated with general economic expansions and contrac-
tions. A concurrent seasonal adjustment methodology is used in which new
seasonal adjustment factors are calculated each month, using all relevant
data, up to and including the data for the current month.
- 8 -
Prior to the January 2007 benchmark release in March 2007, seasonal adjust-
ment of the JOLTS series was conducted using the stable seasonal filter option
since there were not enough data observations available for the standard use
of moving averages as seasonal filters. Although the seasonal adjustment of
the JOLTS series is conducted with fewer data observations than is customary,
the number of observations is now above the minimum required by X-12-ARIMA to
use the normal seasonal filters. Therefore, the standard use of moving aver-
ages as seasonal filter is now in place for JOLTS seasonal adjustment. JOLTS
seasonal adjustment now includes both additive and multiplicative seasonal
adjustment models and REGARIMA (regression with autocorrelated errors)
modeling to improve the seasonal adjustment factors at the beginning and end
of the series and to detect and adjust for outliers in the series.
Reliability of the estimates
JOLTS estimates are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When
a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed, there is a chance
that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population values they
represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the
particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard
error of the estimate. BLS analysis is generally conducted at the 90-percent
level of confidence. That means that there is a 90-percent chance, or level
of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than
1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of sampling
error. Estimates of sampling errors are available upon request.
The JOLTS estimates also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling
error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to include a seg-
ment of the population, the inability to obtain data from all units in the
sample, the inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide data on a
timely basis, mistakes made by respondents, errors made in the collection
or processing of the data, and errors from the employment benchmark data
used in estimation.
JOLTS hires and separations estimates cannot be used to exactly explain net
changes in nonfarm payroll employment. Some reasons why it is problematic to
compare changes in payroll employment with JOLTS hires and separations, espe-
cially on a monthly basis, are: 1) the reference period for payroll employment
is the pay period including the 12th of the month, while the reference period
for hires and separations is the calendar month; and 2) payroll employment can
vary from month to month simply because part-time and on-call workers may not
always work during the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. Addi-
tionally, research has found that some reporters systematically underreport
separations relative to hires due to a number of factors, including the nature
of their payroll systems and practices. The shortfall appears to be about
2 percent or less over a 12-month period.
Other information
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone: 1-800-877-8339.